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28 September 2015

September 28: Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion

Today is the Global Day of Action
for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion, a day to promote universal access to
safe, legal abortion as a women’s health and human rights issue.

Before 2011 this day has been a
campaign for decriminalisation of abortion in Latin America and Caribbean for
nearly twenty years before being taken on by SRHR activists all over the world.

Of course there are many countries,
especially the developed countries, where abortion is legal and women have a
save access to abortion. But let me tell you a few numbers, which show you the
worldwide rate:

21.6 million
women experience an unsafe abortion worldwide each year; 18.5 million of these
occur in developing countries

Each year, 6.9
million women in developing countries are treated for complications from unsafe
abortion.

Nearly half of
all abortions worldwide are unsafe, and nearly all unsafe abortions (98%) occur
in developing countries. In the developing world, 56% of all abortions are
unsafe, compared with just 6% in the developed world.

The proportion
of abortions worldwide that take place in the developing world increased
between 1995 and 2008 from 78% to 86%, in part because the proportion of all
women who live in the developing world increased during this period.

Since 2003, the
number of abortions fell by 600,000 in the developed world but increased by 2.8
million in the developing world. In 2008, six million abortions were performed
in developed countries and 38 million in developing countries, a disparity that
largely reflects population distribution.

Highly
restrictive abortion laws are not associated with lower abortion rates. For example, the abortion rate is
29 per 1,000 women of childbearing age in Africa and 32 per 1,000 in Latin
America—regions in which abortion is illegal under most circumstances in the
majority of countries. The rate is 12 per 1,000 in Western Europe, where
abortion is generally permitted on broad grounds.

Where abortion
is permitted on broad legal grounds, it is generally safe, and where it is
highly restricted, it is typically unsafe. In developing countries, relatively
liberal abortion laws are associated with fewer negative health consequences
from unsafe abortion than are highly restrictive laws.

In 2008, more
than 97% of abortions in Africa were unsafe. Southern Africa is the subregion
with the lowest proportion of unsafe abortions (58%). Close to 90% of women in
the subregion live in South Africa, where abortion was liberalized in 1997

In Latin
America, 95% of abortions were unsafe, a proportion that did not change between
1995 and 2008. Nearly all safe abortions occurred in the Caribbean, primarily
in Cuba and several other countries where the law is liberal and safe abortions
are accessible.

The estimated
annual number of deaths from unsafe abortion declined from 56,000 in 2003 to
47,000 in 2008. Complications from unsafe abortion accounted for an estimated
13% of all maternal deaths worldwide in both years

Almost all abortion-related
deaths occur in developing countries, with the highest number occurring in
Africa.

Unsafe abortion
has significant negative consequences beyond its immediate effects on women’s
health. For example, complications from unsafe abortion may reduce women’s
productivity, increasing the economic burden on poor families; cause maternal
deaths that leave children motherless; cause long-term health problems, such as
infertility; and result in considerable costs to already struggling public
health systems.

Reducing unmet need for modern contraception is
an effective way to prevent unintended pregnancies, abortions and unplanned
births.

There are also many abortion
myths, in developing and developed countries, which lead to wrong
information and act and they have influence on public opinions, which also lead
to stigmatization. For example: “it causes cancer”, “it is dangerous”, “it is
traumatic and causes mental suffering”.

But the truth is:

Abortion isn’t
dangerous in safe and legal settings

No evidence
supports the existence of “Post-Abortions-Syndrome”.

Recent studies
on women seeking abortions showed that women who were able to obtain an
abortion, 95% reported that they were relieved.

Abortion is not
immoral. Access to safe and legal abortion is a human right and a moral good.

Those myths spread because of
limited access to information or by people opposed to abortion and the myths
are repeated often. Unfortunately they have a strong impact on women, society
and politicians. People are forced to have unwanted pregnancies, there is no
access to safe and legal abortions and abortion carries stigma and
discrimination. So women won’t speak about it and fear the act. This is why
such high numbers arise and the myths have an effect on women’s health, rights and lives.

So
this day is a call for action to fight the myths, discrimination and
stigmatization.

What
can you do?

Inform
your community, friends and family members, point it out to your environment in
your country or just be there if a friend needs you in times before, during or
after an abortion without stigmatizing her.

Spread your thoughts on the
internet: Use #BustTheMyths or #AbortionStigma